Show me your Custom VCP's!

All things related to the Centroid Acorn CNC Controller

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ShawnM
Posts: 2190
Joined: Fri May 24, 2019 8:34 am
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Location: Clearwater, FL

Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by ShawnM »

For the record the large “reset” button is NOT an e-stop button. Or even a fake e-stop button. It a reset button and its purpose is spelled out in the users manual. Please don’t confuse the two.
XYZgnomon
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Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by XYZgnomon »

ShawnM wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 11:57 pm For the record the large “reset” button is NOT an e-stop button. Or even a fake e-stop button. It a reset button and its purpose is spelled out in the users manual. Please don’t confuse the two.
NOTED! Some of the other software controllers seem to label them as an e-stop and I just made the connection without thinking. Thanks for clearing it up!

It also reinforces the idea of having the cycle start/feed hold button as its neighbor. Aesthetically, I think it works well, but having it there makes hitting it a reflex instead of the result of searching around for a tiny button in the middle of the field.
ShawnM
Posts: 2190
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Location: Clearwater, FL

Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by ShawnM »

You can make the cycle start, cycle stop and feed hold buttons larger if you desire and move them around. The VCP is customizable and there is a manual for the procedures on how to customize it. The "reset" button has nothing to do with the cycle start, cycle stop or feed hold. It's a reset button and can be used to enable components at startup and reset components after a fault. Having them as neighbors makes no sense to me. The reset button is the first button you have to press once you start CNC12. Please take some time to read the manuals and familiarize yourself with the functions of the Acorn controller.

Here's a link to the VCP Users Manual and how to customize it:
https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... manual.pdf
XYZgnomon
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 3:34 pm
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Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by XYZgnomon »

ShawnM wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 4:55 pm You can make the cycle start, cycle stop and feed hold buttons larger if you desire and move them around. The VCP is customizable and there is a manual for the procedures on how to customize it. The "reset" button has nothing to do with the cycle start, cycle stop or feed hold. It's a reset button and can be used to enable components at startup and reset components after a fault. Having them as neighbors makes no sense to me. The reset button is the first button you have to press once you start CNC12. Please take some time to read the manuals and familiarize yourself with the functions of the Acorn controller.

Here's a link to the VCP Users Manual and how to customize it:
https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... manual.pdf
I understand about the reset button. Thank you.

Having already read the manual multiple times is exactly why I am here! It implies that the lower row is not editable, but there are so many mixed signals about this that I would like to hear more about it from someone who has done it. I have even seen multiple versions of this part of the VCP - the version in my screen grabs is a few years old and looks completely different than more recent shots. Weirdly, different users' screengrabs show various states of the buttons that are supposedly not editable drifting around the lower right corner of screen. In most of the shots I've seen, the buttons aren't even lined up to anything.

Again, I need to know that I can edit the lower row, and have the result that I showed - BEFORE I buy. Obviously I have already read the manual.
Gary Campbell
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Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by Gary Campbell »

If you look 2 posts above your 1st post, Shawn posted that you can change the reset button image. But not it's size or location. No mention is made anywhere about the feedrate override box. My guess is no, you can't make the changes you desire, so you will have to purchase a system that will most likely run the machine worse, but let you change a button picture. Good luck on your journey.
GCnC Control
CNC Control & Retrofits
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XYZgnomon
Posts: 21
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Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by XYZgnomon »

Gary Campbell wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 10:16 pm If you look 2 posts above your 1st post, Shawn posted that you can change the reset button image. But not it's size or location. No mention is made anywhere about the feedrate override box. My guess is no, you can't make the changes you desire, so you will have to purchase a system that will most likely run the machine worse, but let you change a button picture. Good luck on your journey.
I get it. You've never done it either. Thanks for the update.
ShawnM
Posts: 2190
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Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by ShawnM »

XYZgnomon wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 7:00 pm Again, I need to know that I can edit the lower row, and have the result that I showed - BEFORE I buy. Obviously I have already read the manual.
We are trying to help you and give you the correct answer. Again, you can edit the button image but not their locations. I've done it and posted a screen shot of my VCP in this topic. I'm not sure how much more clear we can be. You can edit and move the first ten rows only.

Obviously, if you had actually read the VCP manual you'd know this. Here's an excerpt from the VCP manual, page 37, in case you missed it:

4.) Buttons that are fixed in size and location.

The Reset, Feedrate Override, VCP options and Push to Free buttons are fixed in size and position on the VCP. You can change the images and even edit the xml file but you can not change the size of the button box or the position of these buttons.
XYZgnomon
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 3:34 pm
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Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by XYZgnomon »

ShawnM wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 11:09 pm
XYZgnomon wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 7:00 pm Again, I need to know that I can edit the lower row, and have the result that I showed - BEFORE I buy. Obviously I have already read the manual.
We are trying to help you and give you the correct answer. Again, you can edit the button image but not their locations. I've done it and posted a screen shot of my VCP in this topic. I'm not sure how much more clear we can be. You can edit and move the first ten rows only.

Obviously, if you had actually read the VCP manual you'd know this. Here's an excerpt from the VCP manual, page 37, in case you missed it:

4.) Buttons that are fixed in size and location.

The Reset, Feedrate Override, VCP options and Push to Free buttons are fixed in size and position on the VCP. You can change the images and even edit the xml file but you can not change the size of the button box or the position of these buttons.
I hear you loud and clear!

For some reason you think I haven't read the manual. FTR I fully understand that there is no officially sanctioned way to edit the VCP beyond what the manual shows. That's why I'm here asking for advice on how to edit it anyway - the current gaggle of buttons in the lower right corner aren't very useful and I would like to be able to change them to something else, even if it isn't in the manual.
ShawnM
Posts: 2190
Joined: Fri May 24, 2019 8:34 am
Acorn CNC Controller: Yes
Allin1DC CNC Controller: No
Oak CNC controller: No
CNC Control System Serial Number: 7804734C6498-0401191832
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Clearwater, FL

Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by ShawnM »

THERE IS NO WAY TO DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, OFFICIALLY OR UNOFFICIALLY !!!!!!!! Hopefully that's louder and clearer. :mrgreen:

That said, I'm baffled that you think those buttons aren't useful but never using Acorn I understand why you might think that. You need one of them, the large reset button, to even get the software going so I think that button is pretty useful. Until you press that button nothing works. Also, the feedrate override is also very useful in fine tuning the feedrate on the fly. If you are cutting a new material for the first time on your machine and you aren't sure what feedrate your machine can handle, your gonna want that button handy. Say you start with with the cutter manufacturers feed rate but if your machine cant handle it and starts to chatter, you can decrease or increase the feedrate on the fly to find that sweet spot. Very handy to have. The other two buttons actually control the VCP so I'd say those are needed as well.

Why not just use row 9 and 10 and create the large buttons you desire? You can have a large (2x2) green button for Cycle Start on the left, a yellow (2x2) Feed Hold button in the center and a large red (2x2) Cycle Stop button on the right. It would actually look great if you desire large buttons and sooooooo simple to do.

The Centroid controller is light years ahead of any other controller you are thinking of using. Why would you want a controller made by one company and some software written in the 80's from another company? Oh, and hope they play well together. Or worse, even get updates for the software. Centroid is constantly updating and improving their hardware and software. The documentation is second to none. You wont find a better "prosumer" controller on the market. I challenge you to try and good luck in your search.
XYZgnomon
Posts: 21
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Re: Show me your Custom VCP's!

Post by XYZgnomon »

ShawnM wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 12:15 am THERE IS NO WAY TO DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, OFFICIALLY OR UNOFFICIALLY !!!!!!!! Hopefully that's louder and clearer. :mrgreen:

That said, I'm baffled that you think those buttons aren't useful but never using Acorn I understand why you might think that. You need one of them, the large reset button, to even get the software going so I think that button is pretty useful. Until you press that button nothing works. Also, the feedrate override is also very useful in fine tuning the feedrate on the fly. If you are cutting a new material for the first time on your machine and you aren't sure what feedrate your machine can handle, your gonna want that button handy. Say you start with with the cutter manufacturers feed rate but if your machine cant handle it and starts to chatter, you can decrease or increase the feedrate on the fly to find that sweet spot. Very handy to have. The other two buttons actually control the VCP so I'd say those are needed as well.

Why not just use row 9 and 10 and create the large buttons you desire? You can have a large (2x2) green button for Cycle Start on the left, a yellow (2x2) Feed Hold button in the center and a large red (2x2) Cycle Stop button on the right. It would actually look great if you desire large buttons and sooooooo simple to do.

The Centroid controller is light years ahead of any other controller you are thinking of using. Why would you want a controller made by one company and some software written in the 80's from another company? Oh, and hope they play well together. Or worse, even get updates for the software. Centroid is constantly updating and improving their hardware and software. The documentation is second to none. You wont find a better "prosumer" controller on the market. I challenge you to try and good luck in your search.
The machines I use at work would gladly tear you in half and not apologize afterward. They probably wouldn't even notice. For my home hobby I want to have the feed hold button in exactly one place, because I am right-handed. Literally everything else about CNC12 looks pretty good, so as soon as I get confirmation that Centroid have removed this weird UI quirk, I'll be ready to buy.
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